The Mimic and the Grimoire

Yes.

I opened my eyes.

Defeat the Mimic.

So the mid-boss of Floor 15 really was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mimic, just like the people on the Jungpan Back Gallery had said. Which meant the Hidden Boss would show up the same way, right?

I fixed my goal in mind. Clear Floor 15 by taking down the Hidden Boss, then learn how to finish the main quest for the tenth-floor range.

The quest window turned translucent and scattered apart, and only then did the scene behind the blue panel come into view. Olivier was squinting at me, staring as if she meant to bore a hole straight through my face.

Wh-what the hell!?

The quest window had completely blocked my view! And more importantly — why was she looking at me like I was some kind of suspicious character?

Olivier spoke.

"I was certain I'd hidden the Treasure Room. So how exactly did you get in?"

"Uh… well…"

How did I get in? …I just entered the Tower and ended up here. I had nothing useful to say. I couldn't exactly tell her I'd closed my eyes, opened them, and found myself standing in her library.

While I sat there opening and closing my mouth, Olivier decided she didn't particularly care.

"This, too, must be the guidance of fate. Well? Care to step into the Treasure Room and claim a truth of your own?"

"This lady knows no retreat."

"Good. I'm curious to see what you'll bring back."

Olivier flicked her fingers. The entire Library shuddered and began to tremble.

Rrrumble—!

The bookshelves moved of their own accord. The old corridor layout vanished, reconfiguring into a cylindrical arena as a wide open space bloomed into existence.

Looks like a colosseum.

Where was the Mimic, though? I scanned the room, hunting for it, and the Library's trembling finally stopped. Olivier stepped close and patted my shoulder.

"Well then. Fight well."

With that, she vanished. And in that same instant, the Library shook again.

What now?

Hadn't the transformation already finished!? I tracked the source of the vibration across the Library until my eyes locked on a single point — the ceiling. It slowly peeled open, and something dropped through.

Thud—!

It had the shape of a chest. But the enormous tongue lolling out through the gaping seam made it very clear this was no ordinary box.

So that's the Mimic?

Which meant I now had to go inside its mouth. I had to go inside…

The pink tongue flexed and rolled. Translucent slime caught the light and glittered, and no matter how I looked at it, the only word that came to mind was filthy.

…I have to go in there?

Did I really have to…?

While I wrestled with the profound philosophical dilemma of Tower progression versus gallery grinding versus basic human dignity, the Mimic pulled out a pair of arms. Two black limbs shot from inside the chest. It planted them on the floor and began dragging itself toward me, box and all.

By the time the Mimic was right in front of my nose, I had finished my deep thinking.

Right. The answer was Gold Transmutation all along!

Tongue, drool — turn the whole mess into gold and nothing sticks, and more importantly, nothing's disgusting anymore.

I set my hand on the Mimic's chest.

Gold Transmutation.

Crrrack—!!

The Mimic turned to solid gold in a single instant. I used Blink to appear above its mouth, then let gravity drop me straight down into it.

The moment I entered the Mimic, my vision went black. A familiar sensation — the same one I felt every time I transferred into a treasure vault or entered the Tower.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in a space dyed black on every side. A quest window floated in front of me. But the sub quest about defeating the Mimic was gone, replaced by something entirely different.

The Grimoire.

Floor 15's Hidden Boss, exactly as I'd heard on the Jungpan Back Gallery. The mid-boss, the Hidden Boss's existence, even the Hidden Boss's identity — all of it matched what they'd said. So following the strategy guide should be fine.

First step…

Right. That was it.

I poured mana into the Crown. A transparent barrier bloomed around my body, and at the same time the surrounding space began to vibrate and press in. In that instant, a single book appeared in what had been empty air. It had no wings, nothing at all — and yet it floated, ignoring gravity completely. Even the Crown's effect seemed to slide right off it. If it hadn't, the thing would already have been smashed into the ground.

So that's the Grimoire?

The moment I confirmed its appearance, the space around me was already packed with magic. Spells of every color glittered with mana-light, glowing as if they were about to fire at any second. In barely a second — no time to prepare — the magic arrayed itself.

Without the Jungpan Back Gallery's advice, I probably would have scrambled to activate Afterimage right then. That would have burned a massive amount of mana, and the whole fight would have started on the wrong foot.

Amid the countless spells embroidering the dark space, the first to move was a spell shaped like lightning.

KRAKOOM—!!

Blue thunder hammered the barrier. That roar was the signal flare, and every kind of magic poured down after it. On the heels of the lightning, a spear of wind punched through the barrier. The tip broke through and forced its way inside, and cracks spiderwebbed out from the spear across the entire shield.

Crrrack—!

Flame bloomed next, swallowing the whole barrier and trying to force its way through the cracks the spear had made. The barrier fought to hold the fire back — until a beam of light shot out in a flash and finished it off.

Shatter—!

The barrier broke apart. And still, countless spells stood ranked around the Grimoire like soldiers, glowing, waiting.

It was about time to counterattack, but… the strategy I'd heard on the Jungpan Back Gallery was a little different.

Hold out until the Grimoire exhausts every last spell. Better to endure to the end than try a half-baked counter and get shredded by a combo chain.

Seven spells left. And then — one of them vanished. The one that disappeared… had been shaped like a tree, hadn't it?

By the time I realized, it was already too late. A wooden trunk erupted from under my feet, coiling around my ankle before I could react and locking down my movement. My face twisted. I shouted in my mind.

Wind Cutter.

A blade of wind shot out. The trunk sheared away without resistance — but a swamp of shadow had already taken its place. My lower body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sank into the dark. Then every remaining spell lit up at once and fired. A massive iron hammer dropped toward my head while the shadow held me fast.

This much…

I'd still managed to burn through a lot without using it. The corner of my mouth lifted, and I spoke in my mind.

Blink.

I left the shadow swamp and the giant hammer behind, riding the expansion of space. Destination: directly above the Grimoire. From there I'd grab it and drag us both to the floor.

The moment I reached for the Grimoire, countless iron chains erupted from the ground and bound my body. Even so I stretched my arm toward it — and still couldn't touch it. Right after, a water droplet the size of my whole body tried to swallow me whole.

I spoke in my mind again.

Blink!

I left the chains and the water droplet behind, riding the swelling space once more. Same destination as before. The Grimoire seemed to know it, wrapping itself in blades of wind like armor.

But you know what? Wind can be stolen depending on the output at the center of the spiral.

I spun my mana — more of it than the Grimoire's focal point, rotating faster. The flow of wind shifted. The Grimoire's wind turned toward me. The wind blades vanished without resistance, and just as my hand was finally about to touch the Grimoire —

A colossal hand of earth surged up. It seized me and the Grimoire in one grip and, without a moment's hesitation, clenched tight.

The Grimoire's self-destruct play.

I thought I was going to die!

Whoa. That nearly gave me a heart attack. The instant the giant hand tried to crush me and the Grimoire together, I finally spent the Afterimage I'd been saving. Thanks to that, I avoided the ending where I got buried alive with a magic book.

That said… why wasn't a clear message popping up? Don't tell me the Grimoire still wasn't dead?

I looked at what had been the earthen hand. The moment it clenched around us, it lost its shape, collapsed, and became a massive mountain of dirt.

…Find the Grimoire inside that? That was a bit much. Sure, I could scatter mana and track it down, but I didn't feel any particular need to go through that much trouble.

I set my hand on the dirt mountain, drew up the mana left in my palm, and poured it in.

Gold Transmutation.

Crrrack—!

The dirt mountain transformed into a colossal mass of gold. Somewhere inside that mountain, the Grimoire buried with the dirt would have turned to gold right along with it. The Grimoire couldn't use defensive magic, after all.

I waited a little, and the clear message finally floated up in front of my eyes.

Huh.

No level-up this time? I checked my status window. Turns out my experience was just short of the threshold. Maybe that was Level 30 for you — the days of rocketing up a level every single floor were apparently over.

Mm. But more importantly… when was it going to tell me what I actually wanted to know?

I glanced sideways at the dirt mountain that was now solid gold. Don't tell me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Grimoire was supposed to explain things, and I buried it so I never got to hear? Nah. No way. The System couldn't be that stingy… right? It shouldn't be.

I waited for the message with a restless heart. Soon enough, one appeared.

A single sheet of paper fluttered down from the sky. I snatched it out of the air and checked it. One sentence was written on the page.

…So what?

You go out of your way to define a mage for me, and then what? I wanted to know how to clear the main quest, so why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dump this on me all of a sudden…

Ah. Wait.

Does me having an Inner World count as a recruitment condition?